PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 8

July 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the
New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these
stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* State and federal authorities have begun settlement talks
with Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest lender,
over the bank's dealings with Iran and other countries
blacklisted by the United States, according to people briefed on
the matter. (nyti.ms/1jjrlKw)

* In response to intelligence reports about plots being
hatched by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, the United States has,
for the first time, asked officials at more than a dozen foreign
airports to confiscate from passengers any electronic devices
that cannot be turned on. (nyti.ms/1thUOIO)

* Lenders Agree to Give Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
More Time to Repay Debt. The agreement to delay certain payments
for three more weeks forestalls a possible restructuring by the
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. (nyti.ms/1oD58WE)

* A group of technology companies led by Intel
announced on Tuesday the formation of the Open Interconnect
Consortium. The group, which also includes Atmel, Broadcom,
Dell, Samsung and Wind River, will focus on creating an
open-source standard for wirelessly connecting devices to one
another and to the Internet. Like other open-source projects,
the member companies pledge to donate intellectual property, or
IP, that all members and others can work on and use. (nyti.ms/1kysb0D)

* General Motors has resisted recalling almost 1.8
million full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles from
the 1999 to 2003 model years for corrosion-related brake
failures, saying the issue is one of maintenance. (nyti.ms/1zlGQGp)
(Compiled by Sudarshan Varadhan in Bangalore)